Lindsey Graham: We Will Take a ‘Long Hard Look’ at Social Media Censorship of Conservatives

Tom Williams/Pool Image via AP)SEAN MORAN28 Feb 2019

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said Thursday that his committee will take a “long hard look” at social media censorship of conservative and alternative voices during a speech at CPAC.

Sen. Graham said that the Senate Judiciary Committee will take a look at social media companies’ censorship of conservative and alternative voices on the Internet.

In a speech ranging from destroying ISIS and confirming Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, Graham asked the crowd how they felt about social media companies’ censorship of conservatives. The South Carolina senator said that his committee will investigate the committee.

“Social media, how many of you are worried about your content being taken down? The person making that decision may not have the same world view that you do,” noting that Silicon Valley companies might have a more leftist bias.

“The bottom line is social media companies have got a lot of power, they’re pretty unregulated, and we’re going to take a long hard look at that because I’m the chairman,” Graham said.

During the confirmation hearings for then-Attorney General nominee William Barr, Graham mentioned that he will take a look at social media censorship during his tenure as Senate Judiciary Committee.

Barr said during those hearings that he was interested in reassessing” or learning more about the Department of Justice’s anti-trust policies and in regards to the Silicon Valley “behemoths.”

Barr said:

Yes, I mean generally that’s where I stand that is the purpose of anti-trust law obviously is to protect competition and competition ultimately that rebounds to consumer benefits. At the same time, I’m sort of interested in stepping back and reassessing or learning more about how the anti-trust division has been functioning and what their priorities are. I don’t think big is necessarily bad, but I think a lot of people wonder how such huge behemoths that now exist in Silicon Valley have taken shape under the nose of anti-trust enforcers.

“And you can win that market share without violating anti-trust laws, but I want to find out more about that dynamic,” Barr added.